Free His Secret Heroine by Delle Jacobs

going to be saved, and long before Chloe found herself in danger of the bars of debtor's prison.
    But the bars of a different prison were closing in on her. The trembling returned.
     
    * * *
     
    Reggie hopped off the gelding and slapped the reins into the groom's hands. He'd done it! Miss Englefield was to become Lady Reginald, his wife. She was perfect. Wonderful beyond imagining.
    And he was sure she would keep their understanding private while he hid away and finished The Adventuress . He wouldn't have to worry about Vilheurs stealing a march on him, yet at the same time, his father was not likely to learn anything that would raise suspicions.
    Atop all that, he'd found the scenes that had been eluding him. But now he'd have to change the ending. Why hadn't he already known that? How could a hero fall in love with such a woman, then nothing more happen? No, it was not just a sea adventure. It was a love affair. The love affair that surpassed all those that had come before. Yes, Nicholas Argent would fall in love with Circe, and in the end, they would separate tragically.
    He goaded the gelding to an energetic trot. Something was not right about that.
    Idiot. No, they wouldn't. Nicholas was hardly the type to let the love of his life just walk away. He would pursue her. He would find her, in the place to which she had returned. In an elegant ballroom, he would find her, having reverted to the formal steps of the minuet, and he would take her into his arms for the waltz. It would be a metaphor of the waves of the sea, of the fervor of their love. And he would make her his own. Happily ever after.
    Reggie dashed up the stairs and burst in the door. Puckett merely looked up and set down the vase he had been polishing.
    Reggie ripped off the coat before Puckett could assist him, and snatched up the smock. "What sort of flowers did you send to Miss Englefield, Puckett?"
    "Irises again, My Lord. Dramatic, but not committing to any particular thing."
    "That will not do now. It must be roses. Red. Every shade of red you can find. A bouquet that speaks of everything." Reggie pulled out the manuscript from its secret compartment.
    "Everything, My Lord? Already?"
    "Yes, already. Every day. And there is not to be so much as a posy sent to another lady, unless she is married and is not likely to mistake its meaning. Miss Englefield will suit nicely in all respects. And we can manage on her money and mine until I can compensate her, until either my writing takes off, or I snatch the Featherstone legacy from my father." He shuffled to the last chapter and scanned over the pages. "How are you doing with the copying?"
    "Quite well, My Lord. Upwards of eighty pages, I believe."
    "You are amazing, Puckett. I am nearly done. I have my ending now, but I shall have to compose it entirely from scratch. You may inform Mr. Ludwick the new version will be complete within days."
    "Then I shall keep pace, My Lord. This has become your best work, and I have the highest of ambitions for it. Mr. Ludwick cannot refuse it this time."
    Puckett's words trailed off from Reggie's consciousness as the dramatic ending absorbed him. Pen, ink and paper became words, and words the fantasy from his imagination, that in itself became his new reality.
     
    * * *
     
    "My Lord?"
    Puckett's voice penetrated the haze in Reggie's mind like a bright lantern. He blinked and sat up, shaking off sleep. Oh, yes, his bed. He ran a hand over the raspy stubble of a beard more than a day old and frowned at his rumpled clothes. Oh, yes. He had finished, and collapsed atop the covers without so much as another cup of coffee. When had that been?
    "My Lord," said Puckett. "I finished the draft. Ludwick has it. I left him reading."
    Still drugged from sleep, Reggie rose. Dear God, it was almost like coming off a high flyer! His head hurt like his brain had come loose and banged around against his skull.
    "It's Friday, My Lord. You finished yesterday afternoon. You meant to do the